Not to Be
by silver-nightstorm
Summary: Lavender Zabini, it was going to be. She wouldn't be anything now, and Parvati had no choice but to take her place.
1. I

_Lavender Zabini, it was going to be. She wouldn't be anything now, and Parvati had no choice but to take her place. _

**Not to Be**

**By silver-nightstorm**

**Words: 1091**

**XX**

"Get up."

She looked up from her book to see her mother in the doorway, glowering. She tried to say something, but she couldn't form the words. Her throat was too dry.

"I said, get up!"

She swallowed a couple times, not moving from her supine position under her downy comforter. It took her a few moments, but she finally managed to speak. "What's the point?"

Parvati Patil shrieked as Lakshmi Patil stormed into the room and ripped the covers from around her, knocking her to the ground in the process. Picking herself up off the floor gingerly, Parvati glared at her mother and rubbed at her bruised knee.

"The point is, _my dear_, that we have work to do!" Lakshmi deposited the covers back onto the bed and dusted her hands off. "This meeting is very important and…"

"I won't marry him."

"That's not for you to say," retorted Lakshmi, throwing open the door to Parvati's closet. "I know you never liked his friends at school and I know he's a Slytherin but…"

"Mum, you really think that's what I care about?" demanded Parvati. She stormed up to her mother, blocking her access to her clothes by shoving the novel she still clung to into her face. "I could care less where his bloody loyalties were during the war! What I do care about is the fact that he was betrothed to _her_ and…"

"You don't have many options, you can't afford to be picky!" Lakshmi shoved her daughter's hand out of the way. "This is your fault, you know? If you had just let your father and I pick your betrothed when you were young as is customary you wouldn't have to choose from the _leftovers_ now."

"Pick somebody else!" screamed Parvati. Lakshmi jumped, shocked by the proximity of the noise. "There is more than one _leftover_ from this war so pick someone who wasn't engaged to my dead best friend! You _want_ to torture me, don't you?" Parvati retreated back to her bed, collapsing onto it, cradling the book in her hands before throwing it onto her nightstand. "This is all because I didn't leave at the end, isn't it. How could I? You're always telling me to do the right thing but when it comes down to it, apparently that doesn't matter to you so now, instead of saying it to me directly, you're just going to make my life a living hell by reminding me of her at every turn! It's my fault they were both there and now you want to make sure I remember it forever! You blame me for her and now you're going to torture me even more and…"

Parvati glared at her mother for a few moments before bursting into tears. Once upon a time, Lakshmi would have been with her daughter on that bed comforting her but things had changed during that war. Instead, she went back to the closet, pulled out a sari, and placed it on the vanity. She silently retreated to the door. "I expect you to be ready and waiting in an hour. And wear makeup to cover those horrid tears."

XX

Her hair was short now. She had cut it soon after the final battle at Hogwarts because it reminded her too much of the time she spent with Lavender obsessing over makeup and hair and boys. It reminded her too much of her sister. In Diagon Alley soon after the battle, she had been ambushed by an ecstatic Cho Chang who was so happy that she was alive and… long hair didn't last long after that. She ran a comb through her shoulder length curls, brushing out the tangles as slowly as she possibly could. Her purple and green dragonfly barrette was lying on the vanity and she pulled her hair into a twist that rested on the nape of her neck and secured it with the garish piece. Her mother hated that pin. She would wear it no matter how ridiculous it looked.

She dug through her drawers looking for the one eyeliner pen that she had left. She found it after a few frantic moments of fumbling and quickly applied a thin line on her waterline. Fishing the mascara out of the same drawer, she swiped the brush over her eyelashes quickly. She threw the two back in the drawer and slammed it shut with a resounding thud.

"Fifteen minutes!" called her mother. Parvati did not reply.

The sari that her mother had set aside was her favourite one, a dark royal purple in a transparent light-weight fabric. The edges were decorated with silver threads, stones, mirrors, and beads with flower cut outs. Parvati tucked the end of the sari into her petticoat and wrapped the fabric around her body in the traditional way. Her blouse was more modern, practically backless with short cap sleeves but the dangerously low neckline was thankfully concealed by the fabric of the sari. She secured the many pleats with pins and pulled silver bangles onto her wrists. She carefully put on her silver earrings and looked forlornly around her room. This was her home. She shouldn't have to do this. Her parents had been kind enough to let her escape this Pureblood custom for so long that she had almost forgotten that it existed but now it was right here in front of her and she had to face the facts. If only it wasn't _him_ that she had to marry.

One last look in the mirror. Parvati looked beautiful. She hated it.

As she walked down the hall of the third floor of her home, Parvati acknowledged that she could have been much worse off. Among the currently _available_ men her age were many children of ex-Death Eaters. Their previous engagement contracts had been suddenly and inexplicably dropped. Parvati couldn't think of something much worse than being married to the brutish and dumb Gregory Goyle or the prat Draco Malfoy.

Blaise Zabini, by himself, wasn't a bad choice. He was handsome and smart and not a horrible person. Zabini on his own was actually one of the better options for Parvati. She knew that fact and she acknowledged that fact and she hated that fact. If it wasn't for her. Lavender Zabini, it was going to be. She wouldn't be anything now, and Parvati had no choice but to take her place.

She unconsciously straightened her shoulders as she reached the stairs. Gripping the bannister with clammy hands, Parvati descended down to the ground floor.

**XX**

_Multichapter Forced Marriage Competition_

_The Multichap Competition Round 1_

_Almost like a novel – multi-chapter-story-challenge_

_The Wizarding Academy of Dramatic Arts Challenge _

So this is my first attempt at a forced marriage fic, so I hope you guys enjoy it! Please favourite, follow, and leave a review. It'd be much appreciated!


	2. II

**Words: 1114**

**XX**

In the private sitting room of the Patil mansion, two couches covered in luxurious fabrics faced each other with a narrow table in between. The table sported a jug of water along with five saucers of tea and a plate of samosas. A vase of roses was at the very center. At the far side of the room, a fire crackled merrily in a small fireplace with a small antique clock on the mantle.

Parvati's father sat on one couch all by himself, posture impeccable, leveling a steely glare at the young man sitting opposite to him. Blaise, for one, was an absolute contrast. He was lounging on the couch, his left foot propped on his right knee. His arm rested on the hand rest and lazily propped up his head while his other hand tapped out a rhythm on his knee. Parvati tried to ignore him as much as possible, focusing instead on the woman next to him on the middle of the couch, his mother. Among the lavish Turkish rugs and Indian silks, Ms. Isabelle Zabini still stood out. Her skin was a rich caramel and her waist length red hair flowed in effortless curls. She sat next to her mother, wearing a sari like her long-time friend. The two women had been talking – probably reminiscing about their days in school – when Parvati made her appearance in the room.

Parvati pointedly avoided her mother's eyes, choosing instead to shoot her father a sad smile from her position at the doorway. Naveen Patil gave his daughter a matching smile, and patted the empty spot on the couch next to him. Parvati plopped down next to her dad and promptly curled her feet up under her, reclining in a relaxed position. Lakshmi glared, Ms. Zabini grinned, and Blaise snorted. Parvati's eyes were unconsciously drawn to Blaise's, and he smirked as he met hers. He unconsciously adjusted a cufflink, causing Parvati to smile inwardly.

_No. You don't care. You don't care at all._

"Parvati, darling, put your feet down please?"

Parvati didn't move, continuing to ignore her mother. Naveen put an arm around his daughter and gave her a quick half-hug. "It's no matter, Lakshmi. Let her be comfortable. You don't mind, do you Isabelle?"

Ms. Zabini grinned, her teeth an almost dazzling white. "Not at all, it's cute."

A flood of heat filled Parvati's cheeks. _I'm not a child._

She ignored the part of her saying she was acting like one.

"Now," Naveen leaned removed his arm from around Parvati, leaving her feeling unnaturally cold, "I'm sure we don't really need to debate if this is happening or not…" his voice trailed off as he gave Isabelle a questioning look.

"Of course not!" she replied. "We've wanted to be related to _ages_," she said, elbowing Mrs. Patil. "This is practically a dream come true! I couldn't think of a better match."

"In that case, we should leave them alone while we discuss details," said Parvati's mother. The adults were quick to leave the room, leaving Parvati and Blaise sitting on couches opposite each other, just staring.

XX

It was Blaise who broke the silence. Parvati had been determinedly staring at the flickering flames of the fireplace while tracing the decorative patterns of her sari. The silence had stretched on for a good half hour in a decidedly uncomfortable manner but Parvati wasn't fazed by it in the least. Contrary to what most people believed, Parvati treasured silence. She was perfectly content to sit in a room, side by side with another, without exchanging any words for hours on end. Most people didn't understand that. Lavender, for one, certainly didn't, but Parvati found that she couldn't stay quiet around the blonde girl. Something about Lavender just made Parvati want to _talk_ and spill her secrets and simply… enjoy the sound of her voice. No one else had that effect on her. Not her parents, not even Padma. And certainly not Blaise.

"Purple is a good color on you."

She was embarrassed to admit that she jumped out of her seat a little bit at those words. It had been silent in the room for so long that she had simply forgotten that Blaise was still in the room with her. It took her a few moments to process the fact that he had given her a compliment and when she did, she was even more embarrassed by the fact that her cheeks unconsciously filled with warmth.

Parvati thanked the gods for the fact that blushes didn't show up on her skin.

A few seconds after Blaise spoke, Parvati tore her eyes away from the silver polish on her nails to look at the carnation that was in his buttonhole. "Thanks," she said, as casually as she could, going for something between 'uncaring' and 'blasé'. "Red suits you as well." She gestured towards his shirt, her bangles clanking.

A few more moments of silence passed and Blaise spoke again.

"You're studying Potions, right?" he began. Parvati's dark brown eyes snapped up to meet his steel-grey ones. The ice that was constantly present in them during her Hogwarts days was gone. Her shock was quite obvious. She didn't expect him to know what she was studying. She didn't expect him to know anything about her besides her blood-purity. And even if she had – maybe, just maybe – hoped that he would know something about her, she never ever thought he would mention it.

After a solid minute of sputtering (Parvati was making a horrible habit of it), she finally replied. "Yes," she said, softly. "I'm doing a cross university study, actually. I'm doing Potions at The European Wizarding University and Costuming at The Wizarding Academy of Dramatic Arts. I think I might take some dance classes at the Academy as well. I really want to get rid of my two left feet." She was rambling. She wanted to shut up.

"I should probably take some dance classes," said Blaise with a wry grin. "There's a reason I never go to social things. I have two left feet."

Before she knew what she was doing, Parvati found herself smiling. Suddenly, a blonde corpse appeared in her vision and her smile disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared. "Stop pretending to have the same interests as me," she snapped, her hands tightening into fists, violently gripping the fabric of the sari. "I know you couldn't care less, so don't pretend to."

Blaise's face hardened, his eyes regaining their normal ice. Any kindness that Parvati had seen in them before was completely gone. Now, they were the steel-grey of daggers. "I'm just trying to make the best of a distasteful situation."

**XX**

_Multichapter Forced Marriage Competition_

_The Multichap Competition Round 2_

_Almost like a novel – multi-chapter-story-challenge – See Parvati struggle more about the marriage, vase, doorway, blasé, clock, maze, carnation_

_The Wizarding Academy of Dramatic Arts Challenge _

Please favourite, follow, and leave a review. It'd be much appreciated!


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